Arms Reach Mini Co-sleeper - terrific for new nursing moms especially after c-section

Why the co-sleeper?
We bought the co-sleeper with the impending arrival of our first baby at the advice of my sister, who was also expecting at the same time. Both of us were supporters of the idea of attachment parenting, planned to nurse our babies and liked the fact the co-sleeper was advocated by Dr. Sears.

So... how did it go with the co-sleeper?
Well the reality is that I often wound up with baby in bed with us for half the night as I would often fall asleep while nursing. That being said, I still think the co-sleeper is a terrific product, especially for first time parents.

The pros...
- As a new mom, I was anxious about everything and it was reassuring to be able to see and check on baby by just opening my eyes without even lifting my head off of my pillow. This was especially a godsend since I had a c-section and it was so difficult to get out of bed on my own.
- Great for nursing thru the night so you can pick up baby without even getting out of bed. I honestly was hopeful I would be able to just stick out my arm and bring baby to me without even sitting up but that realistically didn't happen, you still have to sit up... ;)
- Baby is comforted by being able to see and smell you nearby and you can easily reach your hand out to comfort them.
- small and compact so it doesn't take up much room
- light enough so it is fairly easily transferable from 1 room to another or even 1 floor to another
- neutral color to fit into any decor
- terrific storage pockets on the sides for wipes, diapers and creams and as well has a large zippered storage compartment underneath
- handy storage bag to travel with it
- mine came with the leg extensions though we actually removed them since our bed is quite low
- wheels with castors on 1 end of the co-sleeper so that you can wheel it around the room by picking up 1 end of it
- no concerns about rolling over onto baby or SIDS. When we did sleep with baby in bed with us, I always had my mommy radar on high alert worried about rolling onto him so my sleep was more restful if baby was in the co-sleeper
- the side of the co-sleeper can be pulled up so that it is like a bassinet if you want or need to use it on its own rather than attached to a bed

The cons...
- I would nurse while side-lying in bed and baby would most often fall sleep while nursing. The transfer from bed to co-sleeper was always tricky to do without waking baby but was probably also a good introduction for baby as well as myself to the idea of being transferred to a crib down the line.
- tricky to assemble and especially to collapse. You'll do better if you read the directions closely as it is not intuitive. The bottom rails must be collapsed before the top ones.
- it depends on your baby but most outgrow it quickly within 3 to 4 months, not just because of their height or weight but because they flail their arms as a reflex around 3 months and start to hit the sides of the co-sleeper and wake themselves up. Because of this we had to start using the crib instead of co-sleeper by about 4 months.
- you are supposed to secure the co-sleeper to the side of your bed. This is not an easy thing to do if you've got a heavy mattress! You need 1 person to hold the mattress up while you try to get the strap adjusted to the right width and underneath the mattress across to the other side of the bed.
- It depends on your bedframe, but for us, even with the co-sleeper secured, there was a huge gap between the co-sleeper edge and our mattress. I stuffed the gap with rolled up blankets. Since baby generally outgrows the co-sleeper before they begin to roll, it isn't a huge issue.
- you can't put a mobile on this so our cute mobile has languished in the closet. By the time baby is ready to transfer to the crib, they are generally better off without distracting mobiles that make it more difficult for them to fall asleep

A few more tips...
- I have seen other reviewers complain about the hard mattress. I never even thought twice about this and it never seemed to be an issue with our son. To me it didn't seem much harder than the mattresses that come with bassinets and playpens.
- It only comes with 1 mattress cover that is an odd size. Instead of using this, I covered up it with a waterproof sheet then a change pad cover (by Kushies).
- As another little plus, it was difficult for me to get out of bed without any help after my c-section and I actually would grab onto the top edges of the co-sleeper closest to me to use as leverage to pull myself up from bed. The co-sleeper never seemed to suffer from the extra strain.
- I have just recently started seeing bassinets for sale that have a similar design with 1 side that can lower down. So long as the height is right and they can be secured to the side of your bed, there shouldn't be any reason these can't work just as well as the co-sleeper.

Final thoughts
For me this was a purchase I don't regret despite the fact that we didn't get to use it for very long. As a first time mom, it offered me peace of mind that I can't put a price tag on.